Jar lock and protector.



No. 769,846. 7 PATENTED SEPT: 13, 1904,

S. S. STOOKER.

JAR LOOK AND PROTECTOR APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1904.

NO MODEL.

UNITE STATES Patented September 13, 1904.

PATENT OFFIGE.

JAR LOCK AND PROTECTOR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 769,846, dated September 13, 1904.

Application filed u y 5, 1904- 7 Serial No. 215,368. (No model.) i

T0 on whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SANFORD S. STooKER, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Buf-.

falo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Jar Locks and Protectors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to looks, and more particularly it is a device adapted for the purpose of temporarily-holding jars within a proper support.

In our cities the milkman usually makes his rounds before his customers rise in the morning to open their doors and he leaves his milk (generally in small jars) at some point outside the door as agreed upon between himself and customer. There is constant complaint that unauthorized persons frequently discover this hiding-place and appropriate the morning supply of milk, jar and all.

The object of the present invention is the production of a simple and inexpensive protector into which the jar can be quickly inserted and possibly locked automatically, wherein it will be covered and protected from rain and snow, and from which the housekeeper can remove it later by the use of a simple key.

To this end the invention consists of the lock and protector described below and illustrated in the drawings, wherein Figure .1 is a perspective View of the device. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is an inverted view thereof. Fig. 4 is a central vertical section of the protector, showing the same secured to the side of the building. This view shows the manner in which a bottle is inserted in the holder. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the device, showing the jar retained in the holder. Fig. 6 is a similarview of the protector, showing the position the lever assumes when the bottle is locked inthe holder. Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7 7, Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical section of the lock. Fig. 9 is a vertical section of the same, taken on line 9 9, Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a central vertical section of my invention, showing the protector without the locking attachment.

Referring to the drawings, the letter A designates a ring-shaped plate having at one side an upright bracket B, by which the holder is secured to the wall of a building or to the doorframe just outside the door. Projecting into the aperture of said ring are lugs D, preferably at about the points shown in Fig. 2

that is to say, they are here shown as one hundred and twenty degrees apartthough it could be one continuous lug around the outer side of the ring so long as there is space remaining in the latter to pass the flange on the neck of the bottle through the ring. At a third pointthat is to say, on the inner side of the ring-stands the tip of a lever E, pivoted in the ring and thrown normally forward by a spring F. The inner ends of these lugs and the lever are spaced, so that when the latter rocks the flange around the neck of the ordinary milk-bottle may be passed upward between them into the space beneath a hood Z, which preferably covers the entire ring for the sake of protection. The tip of the lever then engages beneath said flange, and the bottle cannot thereafter be drawn downward and disengaged until the lever is again rocked. The said hood is preferably constructed of celluloid, glass, or other transparent material. Fig. 10 of the drawings shows this idea in its simplest form, there being here no means for locking the lever, and hence the device serving simply as a support and protector. WVith this simpler form I may combine any suitable lock or locking means which will hold the lever in the position shown in Fig. 6 and which can be tripped only by the housekeeper. For purposes of illustration I have shown and described herein one form of such lock, although I desire not to be limited to this precise construction. X is the lock-casing, which is here secured to the bracket B, and I is the tumbler, which is actuated by a key inserted through the keyhole L. H is a catch, here carried by the lever E and which is engaged by said tumbler when the catch passes into position as shown in Fig. 6. If the tip of the catch is beveled and the tumbler is moved by a spring Y, such engagement will be automatic. If not, then the key must be used both to lock and to unlock the device. In either case it is clear that when the tumbler is disengaged i from the catch the lever is free to .be moved outward at its lower end, and this disengages its upper end from the flange on the bottle, so that the latter can be removed. When the spring F is employed to throw the lever E normally into engagement with said flange, I prefer to use some means for automatically returning the lever when its catchis disengaged from the tumbler to at least such an extent that the tumbler will not reengage the catch if the key should then be removed. In the present instance this means consists of a plunger J, located within the lock-casing and having a collar K, whereby the plunger is pressed forward by a coiled spring W, and its protruding front end normally holds the lower end of the lever slightly remote from the lock, as seen in Fig. 5, so that the catch will not be engaged by the tumbler. It follows, therefore, that when the bottle is inserted it must be drawn down with some little force, sufficient to compress the spring W and push the catch H into the lock, so that the tumbler I will snap behind it, as seen in Fig. 6. On the subsequent operation of the-key to raise the tumbler the plunger will move the parts to the position in Fig. 5, which is just suflicient to leave the lever E free to be manipulated by hand, but not quite suflicient to entirely disengage the bottle, with possible injury to the latter in case it should fall.

The parts are of the desired sizes, shapes, proportions, and materials, and some or all of these details may be used without necessitating the employment of all the remainder.

What is claimed as new is- 1. Inajar-lock, the combination with a ring plate having internal rigid lugs at one side of its center, leaving sufficient space between their tips and the other side of the ring for the passage of the flange on the neck of the jar; of a locking device at the other side of the center for engaging said flange to support the jar, and a spring throwing said device normally into engaging position.

2. In a jar-lock, the combination with a ring plate having internal rigid lugs 'at one side of its center, leaving suflicient space between their tips and the other side of the ring for the passage of the flange on the neck of the jar; of a rocking lever at the other side of said center for engaging said flange, and a lock for holding the lever against disengagement.

3. In a jar-lock, the combination with a ring plate having internal rigid lugs at one side of its center, leaving sufficient space between their tips and the other side of the ring for the passage of the flange on the neck of the jar; of a rocking lever at the other side of said center for engaging said flange, a spring throwing the lever normally forward sufficiently to engage said flange, and a lock adapted to engage the lever when the latter is rocked a trifle further.

4:. In a j ar-lock, the combination with a ring plate having internal rigid lugs-at one side of its center, leaving sufficient space between their tips and the other side of the ring for the passage of the flange on the neck of the jar; of a rocking lever at the other side of said center for engaging said flange, a spring throwing the lever normally forward suflieiently to engage said flange, a lock adapted to engage the lever when the latter is rocked a trifle further, and yielding means opposing this further rocking of the lever, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a jar-lock, the combination with a ring plate having internal rigid lugs at one side of its center, leaving sufficient space between their tips and the other side of the ring for the passage of the flange on the neck 'of the jar; of a rocking lever at the other side of said center for engaging said flange, a beveled catch on the lever, and a lock having aspring-actuated tumbler adapted to engage the catch when the latter passes beneath it.

6. In a jar-lock, thecombination with a ring plate having internal rigid lugs at one side of its center, leaving sufficient space between their tips and the other side of the ring for the passage of the flange on the neck of the jar; of a rocking lever at the other side of said center for engaging said flange, a beveled catch on the lever, a lock having a spring-actuated tumbler adapted to engage the catch when the latter passes beneath it, and a spring-actuated plunger in the lock tending to hold the catch and tumbler out of engagement, for the purpose set forth.

7. In a jar-lock, the combination with a ring plate standing in a horizontal position, an upright bracket rigid therewith, and a raised hood mounted on the plate; of rigid means at one side of the ring for engaging the flange on the neck of a jar, and movable means at the other side of the ring for a similar purpose.

8. In a jar-lock, the combination with a ring plate standing in a horizontal position, an upright bracket rigid therewith, and a raised hood mounted on the plate; of rigid means at one side of the ring for engaging the flange on the neck of a jar, movable means at the other side of the ring for a similar purpose, and locking devices for said means.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SANFORD S. STOCKER. Witnesses:

CHAs. F. BURKHART, M. SEWERT. 

